The Wendel family had ties to Drew beginning with President McClintock in the mid-nineteenth century. A wealthy and mysterious family from New York City, the Wendels were modest benefactors through Drew's early years. President Tipple nurtured a relationship with the family, which consisted of a brother and seven sisters (only one of whom married) in the 1920s. As time passed, only one daughter, Ella Wendel, remained as sole inheritor of the multi-million dollar Wendel estate. Upon her death in 1931, Drew received a small part of the estate, including the family mansion in New York City, in total a gift valued at $5 million.
Courtesy of the Drew University Archives
From Drew Magazine:
Fall 2008 "The Fabulous Wendels"
Spring 1995 "Private Lives"
From John Cunningham's University in the Forest (2002)